Perceiving the world like a tree
TREESENSE is a kit for children to imagine the lived experience of a tree by playfully combining textile materials with programmable modules.
How to enage with TREESENSE
The set contains a round carpet, different textile leaves, and interaction cards that can be complemented with wireless electronic modules to engage with a tree’s life throughout the four seasons. A group of children puts together the tree’s story provided through the interaction cards while leaving enough room to accommodate the children’s creativity to extend or change the tree’s adventures. The kit also includes textile insects for more playful interactions in its current version.
At least one child is in the centre of the carpet, acting as the tree. The others enact the story by following the instructions on the provided cards. Thereby, TREESENSE provides three different levels for exploration: 1) The Explorer mode is suitable for beginners or younger children without the need for adding and programming electronic modules yet, 2) the Creator mode is for children who make their first steps with including the electronic modules and easy programming tasks; and 3) the Wizard mode is for children who are already familiar with the programmable modules and engage in more advanced coding.
The message behind
The idea behind the TREESENSE project is to engage children with how a tree perceives the world and to introduce them to the concepts of hardware and software playfully. It is an interactive soft embodied experience kit that provides children with informal and playful learning activities.
Bodily and social engagement is in the foreground to empathise with a tree’s world perception. The TREESENSE kit is suitable for different settings and environments, ranging from private play at home over integration into school lessons to public community events.
Design Process
Exhibitions
- Michaela Honauer, Kristi Kuusk, and Secil Uğur Yavuz. 03.–07. July, 2023. Project Exhibition, “TREESENSE”, Virtual Worth Exhibition, Online. Link to virtual exhibition (you find us under Textiles N–Z).
- Michaela Honauer, Kristi Kuusk, and Secil Uğur Yavuz. 17.–23. April, 2023. Project Exhibition, “TREESENSE”, Fuorisalone (Milan Design Week), Milan, Italy.
Publications
- Michaela Honauer, Seçil Uğur Yavuz, and Kristi Kuusk. 2024. TREESENSE – Sensitising Children to Nature through Embodied Play. In Interaction Design and Children (IDC ’24), June 17–20, 2024, Delft, Netherlands. ACM, New York, NY, USA, 5 pages. https://doi.org/10.1145/3628516.3659425
GET IN TOUCH
Spell Disain
Kristi Kuusk
kristi.kuusk@gmail.com
Free University of Bozen-Bolzano
Seçil Uğur Yavuz
secil.uguryavuz@unibz.it
Mihoo Design
Michaela Honauer
contact@mihoo.de